Dear Citizens of the Suzerainverse,
Welcome to our December & January 2026 Broadcast! We’ve got plenty of exciting updates to share since we last checked in, and we’ve been eager to bring you up to speed on what we’ve been working on.
In this edition, you’ll hear the latest development updates from Ata, get a fresh look at how localization is progressing, and dive into our brand-new ARG.
Hello everyone, 2026 has started with plenty of action for Torpor.
First off, we hit some important soft goals. Project Aperture has crossed the 50 percent mark in content development. This progress makes us very excited, and as we continue refining and improving it, we’re seeing a lot of potential opening up that we can still develop further. Two additional writers are joining the project to help refine and expand the story. As we move forward, strong narrative design becomes increasingly important, covering plot holes, strengthening structure, and exploring high-potential paths more thoroughly. There has also been ongoing development and discussion around the game systems and inner workings of the experience. This is still at a fairly early stage, but it’s advancing step by step alongside the content.
Project Fulcrum has also seen strong progress. We have been fixing bugs and working toward a stable state. We are completing a first prototype balancing pass and have added new content and features to deepen the experience. On the technical side, revisions were made to help ideas fit into cleaner structures that will better support future changes. We’ve started clearing open questions around edge cases and angles we hadn’t fully considered before, supported by more precise design processes and improved implementation pipelines. A new UI/UX designer and a senior game designer have joined the project to help push things forward, and we’re gearing up for our first closed playtest soon. Art has also made progress on two Fulcrum characters, which has been very exciting to see.
Audio has been making solid experimental progress on both Fulcrum and Aperture. On Fulcrum in particular, experimental music design has begun as we explore new avenues and opportunities, whereas on Aperture, we made a small audio pivot to better reflect the mental state of the player character. Here’s an early glimpse into the world James has been building for Project Fulcrum: 👉 Listen to the Snippet
On the tech side, we’ve finally implemented a unified CSV file system that imports languages into Suzerain when provided in the correct data format. A language selection interface has been added, and language swapping has been tested successfully. This new infrastructure allows us to hot-swap languages live in the game using a shortcut key.
The Conformist has restarted its pre-production phase. Three new staff members have joined to help define core principles and narrow things down toward a basic prototype. We’re excited to refine the concept and revisit older ideas, sorting through what worked and what didn’t so we can clear the path forward. It still feels like early days, but in a good way. There have been proposals around the core game flow and features and how they interact with the wider experience, and there’s still a lot to figure out before we can fully start building. Tackling this with new expertise and fresh eyes has been energizing, especially as it helps validate our direction. One of the new team members is an industry legend, which humbles us. It will be a long journey, but it’s good to see the project properly underway again. All in all, it’s been a wild and fun rollercoaster so far. Being able to chase our ideas with real support from the community and backers, with momentum, means a lot to us. This year is shaping up to be an exciting one, and we’re looking forward to showing you more as things take shape.
You may have noticed a wave of new lore posts appearing across our community channels. These are all part of The Source, our new ARG that first appeared as a hidden Easter Egg in our 2025 recap. What began as a tease has now opened the door to a deeper mystery to unravel.
The community is already hard at work connecting clues, sharing findings, and forming theories about where it all leads. ACT I is ready to play now! Dive in, investigate, and see what you uncover. The next ACT is coming soon.
After a period of radio silence on the topic, we’re thrilled to finally share some exciting news: localization is making strong, steady progress behind the scenes. Getting the tools fully operational was no small feat, but that challenge is now behind us, and it’s opened the door to the next big step.
We’re officially gearing up to bring in our community leads for the QA phase, working together to make sure the new CSV format integration plays nicely with existing volunteer work and coordinating with leads on how to integrate languages into the game. While we’re not ready to lock in timelines just yet, momentum is building fast. Keep your eyes peeled for what’s coming next.
Want to be part of helping to shape the future of localization? Be a part the Suzerain Universe Discord and join the community-led localization channels.
We’ve kicked off 2026 on a high note, with some excellent online coverage for Suzerain. We were thrilled to discover that British economist Gary Stevenson, better known as Gary’s Economics, is not just a fan of political games, but a Suzerain enthusiast. On an episode of the Serious Danger podcast, he discusses how Suzerain simulates taxation and the real economic and political consequences that flow from those choices.
A big thank-you to askythatsmoreblue for sharing the clip on the Suzerain Universe subreddit.
👉 Watch here (timestamp: 52:06)
Secondly, Ata sat down with Theo Dezalay, a journalist at the independent, nonprofit French outlet Mediapart, for an in-depth conversation about how Suzerain captures the corrosive nature of power, and the immense difficulty of governing responsibly within a deeply divided political landscape.
The article is in French, but it’s well worth reading with the help of a translation app. Here’s a translated snippet: ”Depending on the chosen method and the electoral promises made at the start of the game, each session will be very different and will not offer the same challenges: players will face different obstacles to rebuild the army, accelerate economic recovery, or quell the crisis of the Bludist secessionists. Nevertheless, Suzerain defends a point of view, a conclusion that is always reached naturally: that politics is a world of compromise, an enemy of radicalism and change.”
As part of our political research, Ata will be meeting with key figures across Europe, from Human Rights Watch directors in Berlin to former 10 Downing Street communications leaders in London, as well as representatives of the Albanian government. He’ll also be in conversation with a well-known pollster who successfully predicted the 2024 U.S. elections. These are exciting research opportunities for the team.
It’s not all fun and games. Sometimes, it’s just fun. To mark the end of the year, and welcome a new one, we got together for a couple of team outings. You may notice a recurring theme: good food and good drinks.
One highlight was a visit to Berlin’s Le Petit Chef, where we tried a truly unique dining concept. Over the course of three hours, the team enjoyed four courses, each introduced by an interactive tabletop projection that brought the meal to life before it arrived. It was a one-of-a-kind evening, where the laughs easily outshone the food.
For our 2026 gathering, we decided to switch things up and lean into something a little more refined. Naturally, it still began with dinner and drinks. With full bellies, we headed out for a dose of culture at the Berliner Philharmoniker, taking in a live performance of Dvořák’s From the New World. Hearing it played in person was a fitting way to spark inspiration for the year ahead.
IX: 20
Until next time, dear Citizens. Take care! Glovurius axa Rizia! A’Morgna her Coren! Check out our Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Reddit, Discord and our newsletter to get the latest breaking news for Suzerain and The Conformist.